Artefacts with providence from Japan, Turkey, Germany, Italy, the USA and Egypt add to the Australian memorabilia in a collection that has been painstakingly curated over many years and officially opened to coincide with Remembrance Day.

"You have to remember that when Broken Hill was founded in the 1880s, a lot of miners were ex-soldiers from the British Army," Broken Hill RSL Sub-branch Vice Chairman Rod Horton explained.

"So they would have turned up with some of their kit.

"The memorabilia on display is all donations from Broken Hill people and their descendants (and) some of it has been found in sheds 30 or 40 years after the veteran's death," Mr Horton continued.

According to Mr Horton some of the weapons on display were collected by Australian soldiers as 'souvenirs' and are of historical significance.

"That particular sword could be over 400 to 500 years old depending on how it was made, who made it and how many generations it has been handed down in the (Japanese) family," Mr Horton said, pointing to one of the rare items.

"We have two sets of medals from Boer War veterans from Broken Hill and a rifle that was used in the Boer War (1899-1902).

"There is also a Light Horse scabbard from World War I," Mr Horton added.

Broken Hill's proud military contribution

Broken Hill and its residents can be extremely proud of their contribution to Australia during times of need, according to Mr Horton.

"A funny thing about Broken Hill is that as a township, with our population, we seem to have a very good representation within all the armed forces," Mr Horton said.

"And, believe it or not, our biggest representation is in the navy - and we are a 100 per cent land-locked town."

While recognising the importance of Broken Hill's military contribution, the establishment of the new memorabilia display was also motivated by a desire to learn more of the city's history.

"When we came in to refurbish we found that a lot of the stuff was not catalogued," Mr Horton revealed.

"A lot of the items we don't know where it has come from, how it got here and, in some cases, what it actually is.

"What we are hoping is that if we open it and refurbish it and advertise it people will come in and you never know, someone will walk in and say; 'hello, there is Uncle Harry', so we'll have a name and have some history."